For the first time in years the Panthers will not be holding their annual mid-February fire sale, but instead will be in a shopping mode for young offensive talent. In an exclusive interview with the Sun Sentinel Panthers GM Dale Tallon stressed that while he will be searching for offensive talent, he’s not interested in a rent-a-player or burdensome contracts for aging and underachieving players.
Here’s an excerpt of today’s interview
“We’re not sellers. Worse-case scenario, we’re looking to get better. Our goal since we’ve been here is to get better every day. How do we do that? Unfortunately, we’re banged up at this time, missing three key guys on the backend, so we got to find a way to get through this until we get healthy. We got five games before the deadline so we’ll know better. We got a good core, a good team, so it’s a matter of adding pieces now. We’re moving forward from here, we’re not subtracting!”

Does the surprising drive for the division title change your philosophy?
“We’re ahead of schedule. We’re happy where we’re at. We believe we can move forward here, we’ll do our best to get better.”

Looking for offense or defense?
“We like to score; the easier we can score goals the better it is on your stomach.”

The Jeff Carters? Rick Nashes of the world?
“It has to fit our future. We’re probably not going for a rent-a-player, more like someone that can help us not only now, but long-range as well. It has to fit into our plan.”

“We’ll see what arises here in the next few weeks, whose available, what we need and who’s going to get back. Two of [our defensemen] will probably be back before the deadline (meaning Ed Jovanovski and Jason Garrison). With Jovo, we miss his presence, his strength.”

Have the phones been active?
“They’re really quiet, people are all waiting for the next five games; a lot of teams are still looking to see if they’re buying or selling, so they’re all kicking tires right now. These are the calls I made just today (Tallon said pointing to a list of about 12 numbers of GMs he’s called). We’re talking all the time.”

“The worst-case scenario is we’re staying pat; we’re not subtracting, we’re not just going to do a deal to do a deal. We’ll do something that makes sense and has to fit into our plans long-term as well.”
Tallon said that he is working on signing extensions for Kris Versteeg (RFA) and Garrison (UFA).
“We like those guys, they’re a part of our future, they’re good players, and the type of people we want in our organization, and we’re doing everything in our power to make sure they stay here. It’s just a matter of when and how much, right?”
Are you close?
“Yeah, of course. We’ll get them done. If we can’t, we’ll have to make that decision. We’re doing our best to make sure we keep this team together and keep adding as we move forward.”

Tallon isn’t allowed to mention names of course, but of all the guys on the market, it seems Edmonton’s right wing Ales Hemsky would be a pretty good fit. (My opinion, not Dale’s).
Who would you guys like to see them pursue?
Pavel Kubina? Rick Nash? Jeff Carter?

Comments (36 Comments)

If we went after Nash, it would take everything. Hubereau, Markstrom, Howden, Brickley. Would we all be okay with that? I wouldn’t. That is a waste of the last three drafts. I would rather go after a second or third line guy as well as a good 4-6 defenseman. Forget Nash. He will go to a team like Toronto or Edmonton, like all the big stars do because they think those teams will ever be something. He is NOT worth the next 10 years of this franchise. We could have drafted him, count our losses and move on. We still have a four point lead in the division.. we have GOT to win tomorrow. The only reason Clem started last night was because he was being scouted.. had to be. I don’t know why we didn’t start Theodore. Our defense was exploited horribly, and that needs to be corrected.

We can’t go after Kubina.. he’s too slow. It would be like getting another Jovo. Something that may be interesting is Patrick Kane. The Hawks are tumbling right now, and he is under-performing big time. How about Tyutin from CBJ? A good option that would allow Gudbranson to go down to the 3rd pairing to learn and Ellerby to SIT FOR THE REST OF HIS TIME HERE. Sorry. Zidlicky is a bit expensive for my taste. In my opinion.. one or two forwards and a depth guy on D.. but then again, who do you sit? Three guys will be back, three will have to sit. Do you alternate Jovo and Gudbranson as scratches? But I will say again, no Nash. No, no, no.

Gubranson has improved greatly over the course, espeially after Jovo went down. In my opinion he keeps getting better & smarter. He really does deserve his time now, and I think he will carry his way the rest of the season.

Blackhawks South could use a goal scorer like Patrick Kane. He is young, picked by Tallon and a big salary on a Blackhawks team that needs more Cap room to replace the loss of Campbell. Tallon seems to find a way to get his players here and there are rumors floating about the Blackhawks moving him. Thoughts?

Who wouldn’t want Kane. But I would be shocked to see them part with a player who is a cornerstone of their franchise (along with Toews). Yes, stranger things have happened at the trade deadline, but I wouldn’t count on the Panthers getting Kane to reunite with his best buddy Soupy.

Still baffled why Clemmenholes played last night against a powerfull Senator team… Again gotta say,,,,there sitting Theodore for a Stat reason….Cant figure it out why he plays sooo darn little, especially against an Eastern Conference team…Friday is crucial against the Caps and Ovech… Gonna love to see all the #8 jersey’s in our barn of course. Gonna need to grab the two points… Would be great to see Kane in a Florida SouthernHawk jersey come playoff time…

Hemsky probably isn’t a good fit (with Tallon’s strategy) because he’s a free agent at the end of the season, making him likely just a rent-a-player.
Besides, he’s considered on the soft side in terms of his game and that’s not what the Panthers need. Kubina is also a potential rental as he is also a pending free agent. Tampa has announced that he’s not going to play anymore unitl a trade deal can be completed. Carter has been a huge disappointment this year, but he does have talent. But the Panthers would have to give up way too much to get him, and similarly the price tag for Nash would probably be prohibitive.

The kid I’d be looking at is Derick Brassard, who has lots of upside and hasn’t been properly developed in Columbus. He is also supposedly available as Columbus looks to rebuild from the ground up.

As much as I would like to see an offensively gifted player like Kane on our team I just do not see that happening.

The more important issue is how the Panthers, on the cusp of starting a significant winning streak, once again turn in a turd performance. What the hell is it with the Senators? Do we try to beat them at their game instead of playing our game? These are the games that annoy me to the point of insanity. Apparently fatigue for other teams is less impacting than it is for us. Our record in the second of back to back games versus opponents playing us on a back to back must have a negative differential for us.

This team just cannot maintain prosperity to a degree that will separate them from the pack. Another huge game with the Caps tomorrow. Theo will be in net as I think he is the better big game goalie.

I love finally seeing a GM down here that is a BUYER and has his head screwed on straight. So many times we had to sit and watch Florida’s GMs play pocket pool as another trade deadline came and went while other teams went on a feeding frenzy (often times at Florida’s expense). Perhaps this will finally be the year when Florida dips their toe in the UFA/FA pool and picks up some serious talent to make a serious go at playoffs. I don’t even care if it is a rental player. I’m just dying to see someone in a Panthers sweater that make fans jump out of their seats again. We haven’t seen that since P. Bure. Fans down here are long overdue a team to be proud of and to make it to playoffs (preferrably without being handed a broom in the first round).

What’s with the Senators? Easy answer. Paul MaClean. He’s the guy who I said last year was the only other great candidate for the Panthers to consider in replacing DeBoer. He comes from the Red Wings and has quickly imported that team’s winning culture to Ottawa. He’s a key reason for their success. If it weren’t for the success Hitchcock is having in St. Louis, MaClean would probably be the leading candidate for the Jack Adams.

Nash, Kane are all great unless they want Hubereau, Markstrom, Howden etc. I would rather keep Hubereau and I am sure Tallon would too. If you could get Nash, Kane or Carter for Santorelli, Repik and a first round pick then I do it. But Hubereau, Markstrom, Howden are all keepers. Carter wants to be moved and his contract will be tough to unload so probably get him without a first round pick.

There won’t be any decent talent coming here by the deadline. This team is many players and years away from being a cup contender, and Tallon won’t be able to rent the best as they will go where they have a chance for the cup. If anything, we will have to wait until FA. By that time we will know if Versteeg and Garrison are signable.

We are stuck with Jovo @$4M cap hit, and Upshall’s @$3.5 for the next 4yrs. They both probably have buyout clauses, but Jovo’s will still count against the cap whether he is bought out or retires because he is 35. What a waste of good $$$ to meet the cap minimum. The owners have obviously given Tallon the latitude to meet the maximum to resign talent and pick up something valuable in FA in the next few yrs.

If Tallon is thinking a mid-level center, I think Derek Roy would make an immediate impact on this club. He’s got only 11g to this point, the worst slump of his career, but he’s tapped out in Buffalo with Ruff’s revolving line changes and new scenery can fix that. He’s smart, he’s got great speed, he’ll give you 60 minutes of hockey every night and he’s good for 20+ per. Given 2 steady guys to work with on his line, this guy could be a steal.

I’m guessing he would be tough to pry away, but I would love to see Roy in a Panthers sweater. Something tells me this mini-slump he is in will only be temporary. Roy is the kind of momentum changer player Florida could use to add some serious depth and possibly open up new scoring lines. The fact that we are even having these discussions is refreshing. I still remember past seasons where we would talk about players we would wish to have only to be laughed off the boards because it was so far fetched and ridiculous. Now that Florida actually has a decent core set of players and competent GM, anything is possible as long as ownership doesnt’ clam up again with the purse strings.

I strongly believe that if this deal happens a Goalie will be involved and I think everyone is available. This team has shown it can win with any 2 of the 3 Goailes(Theodore, Clemmensen, Markstrom) I believe Clemmensen is the most likely to go and I only mention Theodore due to the fact he could bring more in return and Markstrom with knee issues at his age that scares me.

Nash would be nice but I think his age, contract, and price tag put him somewhere other than South Florida next year.

Carter just doesn’t feel right to me and his contract is not what the Panthers need. ($5.3M a year until 2022 is insane) As the Panthers need to sign players like Huberdeau, Howden, Bjugstad, Markstrom to long term deals a contract like Carter’s is a burden.

To figure out who that Panthers might add you have to look at who is available and who is not.

Samuelsson, Sturm, Barch, Madden, Kulikov, Ellerby, Clemmensen, Garrison, and Versteeg are in the final year of their deals. I think Garrison and Versteeg will be resigned and hopefully Kulikov with his play this year is now one of Tallons guys and will also be resigned. The fact the he’s injured makes it unlikely that he’ll be moved now but in the offseason im not sure.

Santorelli is a Santos guy but I think the most likely to go. He just hasn’t shown he can grow on last years 20 goal breakout.

Upshall, Kopecky, Bradley, and Skille still haven’t shown they they have found their place with this team and could be moved.

Matthais is on the bubble he is having a career year but he is not a Tallon guy and he has some value so he could be good bait.

Upshall has a no trade clause and has been injured almost all year so he’s not going anywhere. Don’t forget he had 22 goals last year and 18 the year before in only 49 games.

Kopecky and Skille have tie’s to Tallon but who knows how long that will keep them in South Florida.

First of all, this talk of Chicago trading Kane is a Jeremy Roenick invention. He said that Chicago’s biggest need is a franchise goalie and that they should trade Kane in exchange for one. Sorry, but neither Theo or Clemmenson fit that bill and Markstrom is not a proven commidity (and he certainly wouldn’t offer much in the way of advancing their Cup dreams for this year). Perhaps someone like Cory Schneider might, but it’s highlly doubtful the Canucks would make a deal with their most bitter rival, and vice versa. Besides, the notion of making such a huge investment in a so-called franchise goalie is very high risk and more often doesn’t result in a very good return on investment. Just look at how foolish Philly appears to be, having given Bryzgalov a 9 year, $51 million deal. His .901 save % and 2.75 GAA are hardly the mark of a franchise goalie. And the Islanders invested $67.5 million over 15 years in DiPietro, who can’t say healthy, yet Nabokov, with a $570,000 price tag after a waiver claim, sports a 2.24 GAA and .925 save % on a defensively weak team.

Like I said, stranger things have happened, but I just don’t see a Kane deal going down.

Isn’t fun to play GM? You never know what DT is thinking but it’s nice to have assets to deal instead of dumping. I would hate to see any of the prospects moved. The key 4 Jonny H, Howden Bugs & Marky are our future although Marky’s knees scare me (ala Di Pietro). If Marky return to the form he showed us in his brief stay and he stays healthy, he’s our goalie.
As much as I want to see us move through the playoffs, the goal was to create a team that would compete for years not just make the playoffs this season. The fact that this years team gelled is a bonus. It sucks that Upshall’s been hurt all year. I wonder what he could have done if he was healthy?
We definitely need scoring & it drives me nuts that we didnt take Nash over Jay loser when we had the chance. Like my fellow poster said, error in judgement move on. He’s not worth our future. Forget Carter, he’s not gonna a good fit here & he’s a moody under acheiver. Forget Kane, Chicago is not trading him. I like Roy but again what is it gonna cost us?
Whats amazing to me is the comments regarding bringing back guys we had. Ray Whitney, Moore, Boyle the number goes on and one. We had these guys, but traded them away for peanuts. My point is, let’s wait and see what happens & not trade away guys just to make a trade. We were winning a majority of our games in the beginning of the year. If we could return to that form and we STAY healthy, we are in the top 10 teams in the whole league. Keep in mind, if we had won half of our OT losses, we’d be @ 70 points and in the top 3 or 4 in the conference. The chemistry is good here and tinkering with that scares me. I have faith in DT & his staff to be smart before making a trade like the morons (Martin, Keenen) who set us back the last 10 years. It makes me puke when I think about the dumb ass trades & draft picks made under their regimes.

They got Salak from us, they owe us one! hen again, they did take Olesz.

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About the author

HARVEY FIALKOV, a tennis-playing sportswriter who grew up in Long Island following the dynastic Islanders, is the new Panthers beat writer for the Sun Sentinel and looking forward to writing about the best professional sports team in Broward County.